Riley Forster
by Lady Olivia Devereax
Summary: What if Samantha Forster had a slightly older siter named Riley? Warning for a lot of romantic thinking and romance itself, girly stuff and family wishes as well as Christian religion. Not Chirstian Church or catholic or baptist...Christians.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **_What if Samantha Forster had a slightly older siter named Riley? Warning for a lot of romantic thinking and romance itself, girly stuff and family wishes as well as Christian religion. Not Chirstian Church or catholic or baptist...Christians_**. **

**Thanks to: **_My mom, for influencing me to think about what God wants me to do with my life—raise a Christian family and take as many people as I can to heaven, my Dad for teaching me about history and Christianity and God, our preacher for telling me what is really important in a relationship between a man and a woman, my two friends—one for being my listener, and the other for wanting to be a Godly mother and housewife. But I can't forget Terri Farley, can I? Terri, thanks so much for teaching me about Nevada, Hawaii, horses (domestic/feral/wild) BLM, ranch life, cowboys, friendship and family, and for providing a wonderful story. _

**Author's note: **_Writing, so far, is a good portion of my life. Therefore, another good portion would be thinking. This was one of my fantasies for a long time. Just thought I'd make it into a story! Riley is an old-fashioned girl, despite her semi-modern name, and doesn't care what the other cowboys think. There will be a lot of songs and books which I DON'T own, and I may forget to apply disclaimers, so forgive_ me!

**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Phantom Stallion, Phantom Stallion: Wild Horse Island or any recognizable characters, because I am not Terri Farley. I do not own the songs that will follow, or the movies, poems, books, etc. that you may recognize. I do own Riley, her horse, any characters you don't know, and the detail of the Darton Library is my own creation. Needless to say, I've never been outside of Carson City Navada, and when I went there it was only for less than a day each time (on the way to California every year)_

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Prologue: A Bit of an Explanation for the Forster Family:

Riley Forster was born two years before Samantha, her mother being, of course, Louise Forster. Riley and Sam both share their mother's auburn hair, but Samantha has sharp, dark green eyes and Rily has her father's stunning dark blue. Samantha, at thirteen, stands at five foot four while Riley stands at five foot sixat fifteen.

Samantha's horse, Ace, the little mustang, is a tough and feisty bay cow pony, ready for pretty much any challenge. Riley's horse, Syeira, a buckskin mustang-quarter horse has an unknown mustang sire, and her dam is Brynna Forster's beautiful Belle, a huge buckskin quarter horse mare. Syeira is three years old and in training. Her name means Princess.

Cody Forster, only coming up on one year old, with the mother of Brynna Forster, is as chatty as he can be, and a fast learner. Riley is his second mama, and she is proud to be. Wyatt Forster is just as strict about mustangs as normal, Brynna can easily change into her professional biologist self, and Gram still hoards the kitchen for herself, even though Riley has taken over half the cooking.

Pepper is still a goofy teenager, Dallas a strict foreman, Ross a silent cowboy, and Jake an annoying bossy, overprotective big brother. Elys, Kenworthys, and Darby are all close friends and remain in close contact.

Riley is an old-fashioned girly-girl, a hopeless romantic, a big-time dreamer, horse-lover who cooks, cleans, sews, knits, crochets, and an over-achiever who manages to ride horses and do chores while still looking like a lady. Samantha's room is a bit bigger than the books make it out to be, because now there are two twin-sized beds in there...

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**So, this is a bit of information that I thought you guys might like. To prevent some confusion? How do you like the basic story line? Please read and review. Constructive critisism is welcome! (Did I spell that right?)**


	2. A Thousand Years

**Disclaimer:**_ I own nothing you recognize. I do not own 'Austin' by Blake Sheldon or 'A Thousand Years' by Christina Perri. Belle and Syeira are mine, however. _

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"Hey Riley, you dressed yet? I'm ready to start working with the horses!" Sam shouted up the stairs. "Be right down, Sam," I said quietly from the top of the stairs. I walked back to my room and slipped out of my nightgown. I put on a pair of wide pants, so wide that when I put my legs together it looks like a skirt. I believe jeans are immodest, ever since I read the Modesty Survey (**real website**) so now I wear these. I slipped A belt through the loops and tucked in my plaid blouse.

running a brush through my waist-long hair, I pulled it up and twisted it into a knot at the back of my head. The black necklace with a small black stone horse at the end went over my head, and I bent over to pull my boots on. Satisfied with my reflection in the mirror, I walked downstairs.

Having had eaten breakfast an hour before, I walked through the kitchen and to the door, hardly noticing Gram cleaning up the kitchen. But I did. "Gram, I'm sorry. I would have helped, but we have our morning training time—," "Riley, dear, we have this conversation every morning. Schedules are to be respected. Go ahead," She nodded toward the door, laughing.

I grabbed my Stetson and put it on, but let it hang down my back on its stampede string. Pepper, who always claimed that I looked like an old-fashioned Mexican cowgirl tipped his hat at me as he rode past on Nike. Sam had already started grooming Tempest, so I hurried inside the barn to get Syeira.

My beautiful mustang-quarter horse three-year-old waited impatiently for me from her stall. She had a very thick black mane, thick, sturdy Legs, and a strong back. She was beginning to gain quarter horse muscle. As I led Syeira out of the barn, I noticed Brynna working with Belle, Syeira's huge, muscled, quarter horse dam.

I ground tied Syeira—we've been working on it for a while—while I went into the barn to get grooming supplies. After brushing the filly down, I did ground work—pivoting, cavoletti, quick stops, and so on—before setting the heavy Australian saddle on. I slipped the curb bit in her mouth after putting a bit of syrup on it.

Awaiting the sweet sugary flavor, Syeira took the bit willingly. "Good girl. Good Fakhir," I whispered her secret name, meaning 'Proud' in Arabic. Sam was still ground working with Tempest, and I heard her whispering to the black horse. The filly was nearly a mare, about to go on four, just like Syeira.

Syeira flinched when I draped a lunging whip over her body, wrapping it around her legs and snaking it over her back. She didn't shy, though. "Good, girl," I said, scratching her behind the ears. Only then did I swing up, and jimmied with the reins. "Atta girl, Sy," I cooed, clucking her forward. Syeira moved into a walk, and thena steady jog when I told her to.

This was mostly the product of ground work—Dad told me that if I can't control her during ground work then I couldn't control her in the saddle. So I had worked with her since birtb, sitting out there, rubbing the halter along her body to leading her in circles and straight lines. I had chosen a few songs that I wanted Syeira to know, to recognkze. Something that I could use to calm her if she ever got in a frenzied panic.

This one was probably my favorite. I began singing softly.

_Heart beats fast  
Colors and promises  
How to be brave  
How can I love when I'm afraid  
To fall  
But watching you stand alone  
All of my doubt  
Suddenly goes away somehow_

_One step closer_

_(Chorus)  
I have died everyday  
waiting for you  
Darlin' don't be afraid  
I have loved you for a  
Thousand years  
I'll love you for a  
Thousand more_

_(Verse 2)  
Time stands still  
beauty in all she is  
I will be brave  
I will not let anything  
Take away  
What's standing in front of me  
Every breath,  
Every hour has come to this_

_One step closer_

_(Chorus)  
I have died everyday  
Waiting for you  
Darlin' don't be afraid  
I have loved you for a  
Thousand years  
I'll love you for a  
Thousand more_

_And all along I believed  
I would find you  
Time has brought  
Your heart to me  
I have loved you for a  
Thousand years  
I'll love you for a  
Thousand more_

_One step closer  
One step closer_

_(Chorus)  
I have died everyday  
Waiting for you  
Darlin' don't be afraid,  
I have loved you for a  
Thousand years  
I'll love you for a  
Thousand more_

_And all along I believed  
I would find you  
Time has brought  
Your heart to me  
I have loved you for a  
Thousand years  
I'll love you for a  
Thousand more_


	3. War Drum Flats

**Disclaimer**_: I don't own Phantom Stallion or any recognizable characters. I do not own 'Austin' by Blake Shelton_

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"Sam, tell me when you're ready," I called, moving with Syeira through her steady jogged loops around the corral. "Hup," I said softly. Syeira broke into a lope at my single worded commanded. "Good!" I breathed, releasing pressure on the reins. "Whoa!" I said quickly. Confused, Syeira slowed and then stopped.

"You've gotta match my voice, girl! I say it quickly you've got to stop just that quickly!" I said, scratching her withers. "Let's try again," I said, nudging her back up into a lope. I enjoyed the swinging gait and then tightened my fingers around the reins and commanded "whoa!" And Syeira slid to a stop.

"Good, Syeira. Brilliant," I said, lowering my head to kiss her neck. "Let's go," Sam said, coming back from Tempest's warm up. We galloped toward War Drum Flats, heading to Aspen Creek. I began to sing after we began walking. It wasn't loud, but singing was what I did for comfort.

"Okay, awkward question," Sam announced. "Hit me," I said. "How many kids do you want to have?" She asked. I smiled. "Ten," I said. "Ten?!" Sam shrieked. both fillies shied. "Five boys, five girls. The girls: Shiloh, Skyler, Josselyn, Jessica and Gwen. Boys: Jonathan, Bruce, Philip, Daniel, and Steve." I grinned. "Jeez," Sam breathed loudly. "What?" I shrugged, but I wasn't embarrassed.

"That'll be a handful," "I know," I patted Syeira. "Oh, by the way, tonight is movie night," Sam reminded me. "Right—what did we decide on again?" I asked. Jen, Jake, Sam and I all have movie night once a week. Usually Dad and Brynna chose that time to go out to dinner. Gram normally goes to Trudy Allen's.

"We picked Mission: Impossible movie marathon," Sam said. "That's right. At least it's not the TV series," I shook my head. "The new ones are much better," "Oh, yeah," Sam agreed. "Since you asked me, I have to ask you. How many kids do you want?" I wondered. "Two—a boy and a girl. Louise and—," "Jake?" I butted in teasingly. "Certainly not! Why would you even suggest it?" Sam sqwaked.

"Oh, I just thought you'd want a junior in the family," I shrugged, hiding a smile. "Riley Josephina Forster!" Sam shouted. "Samantha Anne Forster!" Someone shouted back. We both twisted in our saddles. The entire Ely posse was headed to us. Well, Mr. And Mrs. Ely were not with them, but the entire juvenile squad on their horses were after us.

"You'd better hope they heard nothing of that," Sam hissed. "Now what's this cat fight about?" Quinn asked. "Oh, nothing. Just about—!" I was inturrupted. "About which of our horses wee faster. And its Ace!" Sam shot me a genuine glare. I decided to humor her. "Oh, please. Syeira is way faster," I scoffed. Everybody new we were lying. I could see it on their faces.

I don't fight. Especially arguing about who's is better. "Come now," Nate laughed. "What, you think we're fools? What are you playing at?" Sam bit her lip.

"Well..."


	4. New neighbors

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Phantom Stallion or Nevada or any recognizable characters. I do not own 'Austin' by Blake Shelton. (Sorry, I just keep forgetting to put it in...)_

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(Well...)

Sam looked at me for help. She really shouldn't have done that. Now we're not getting out of this one. "Why are ya'll so nosy?" Sam drawled, trying to stall. Jake smirked. "Nosy? Us? Brat, he asked a simple question." "I chose not to answer," Sam retorted. I rolled my eyes. "No questions asked by the Elys goes unanswered." Seth teased.

"Dang."

"Brat?"

"I'm thinking! I'm thinking!"

"Sam, it's okay. We were talking about the future," I patted Syeira's shoulders as she began to get nervous. "What about the future?" Quin wondered. "Not now, Quin. I would like to run out Syeira's kinks if you don't mind?" Quin nodded and I smiled.

It was funny. I was so much of a lady that sometimes these guys thought they were talking to their mother or Gram. So then they had to step aside. Oops.

"We could race?" Sam suggested. I shrugged. "As long as we run..." "I'll join in," Jake said, smirking. Again. Quin, Nate, Seth and Adam joined as well. "We all know that you're not going to win," Quin smirked. "You're probably right," I admitted. "Line up," Sam commanded, moving Tempest beside Syeira. Tempest was all Mustang. She'S got distance and confidence.

Syeira's mustang and wuarter horse. She's got distance, confidence and speed. "Go!" Seth shouted a little too loudly. Syeira reared. "Easy Fakhir," I whispered, and she came back down to earth. "Go," I urged quietly, squeezing my legs around her barrel.

Syeira shot forth after the others, her long coarse mane whipping me in the face. She rapidly gained on Comrade, Nate's strawberry roan. Tempest was right behind Chip, who was tailing Witch. I gave Syeira more rein as we neared the line. She got neck and neck with Chip and stayed there. That was as fast as she got right now.

Witch crossed the line, followed by a three way tie of Syeira, Tempest, and Chip. The others came through not half a second later. Syeira snorted and bobbed her head, ready for more. I walked her in wide circles, cooling her down. I glanced up at Quin, who grinned and applied pressure to Chip's left rein. The chocolatey brown horse spun on his hind legs, around and around, and then on his left.

"Show off," Sam snorted, bringing Tempest up to Syeira. Someone clapped. We all turned in our saddles, looking toward the Kenworthy ranch. Two young people, a boy and a girl, sat on their horses and clapped at Quin. The show off mock bowed. Nate slapped him upside the head. "Idiot."

The two riders came towards them. The guy looked to be about Jake's age and just as broad and muscular. He rode a huge bay quarter horse, whose muscles gleamed and knotted noticeably. A stallion, I noted. The girl was probably a bit taller than me, with the same blonde hair as the other, only it fell to her shoulders.

She rode a blue roan. I thought the single-ear bridle fit the roan beautifully. Both the guy and the girl glanced my way, checking out my peculiar clothing. "You have very fast and well trained horses," the girl praised. "I'm Emma. This is my brother, Jonathan." She waved to the other guy.

"I'm Riley Forster and this is my sister, Samantha. But call her Sam. This is Nate, Adam, Seth, Quin, Bryan, and Jake Ely. They're brother, Kit, lives in Hawaii." I smiled and pointed out each brother in turn. "You've got a big family," Emma laughed. "My other two brothers are still at home—Chris and David." Emma explained. Emma was really very beautiful. Her blue eyes caught the sun and gleamed. Her smile lit up her face.

Her brother was very handsom. His blonde hair was short and combed up, not spiked like Quin's, but combed. "I've never seen you here before. Did you just move here?" Sam inquired. "Yeah—This weekend." Jonathan pointed back to the way they came. "We live between two ranches. What were they?" Jonathan looked at Emma.

"Three Ponies and River Bend."

"I live at River Bend, they live at Three Ponies." I explained.

"What kind of ranch have you got?" Nate asked. "We breed appaloosas and cows," Emma laughed "those are no appaloosas." Jake had to cut in. "No. These are quarter horses. We used to have quarter horses. In fact, our ranch name used to be Blue Sky Quarter Horses, but now it's Star Spotted Appaloosas."

"Star Spotted Appaloosa Ranch. I like it," I smiled at them. I looked at my watch. "I'm sorry. Our hour is up. We have to be going," I said. "Someone named the...Kenworthys invited us for a picnic. They said you Elys and Forsters were coming, too?" Apparently Jonathan was as silent as Jake. His sister did all the talking. Sa. Shrugged. "It's up to Dad," She said. We turned and headed to River Bend. I noticed Jake following. He must be working today...


	5. Preperations

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Phantom Stallion_

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I lunged Syeira in even circles, cooling her down. I saw Jake working with the new colt, Comanche. I looked over at Sam, out of pure curiosity. She was watching Jake. I knew she was trying to learn how he was so good at working with horses, but I giggled anyway.

Maybe she was watching him because she couldn't look away from him. My match-maker mind disturbs me. Sam had talked to Dad about the picnic, and we're going. I just knew Quinn was going to bring his guitar. He always does. Brynna had gotten on the phone with Lela Kenworthy immediately, asking what we should bring.

I put Syeira away and went inside. "Hi, honey. Can you make dinner? Gram's in town seeing Sweetheart," Brynna asked. "Sure, Mom. What do you want?" I asked. "Um...fruit salad, green bean caserole and cookies?" Brynna winced. I beamed. "Sure, Mom." I said again, and headed upstairs.

Changing into a floor length sun dress that Sam claimed looked like a 'Mrs. Ingalls Little House on the Prairie' dress. I tied on an apron and began the caserole. I ended up making a triple batch of cookies, and Sam near bit Jake's hand off when he snatched a few from the plate.

"Come on," He said shortly. "Math." I rolled my eyes as Sam groaned and followed him to the table. I pulled the casserole out of the oven and mixed the fruit salad. "Are ya'll ready to go?" Wyatt shouted, coming down the stiars. "Food's done. I've got to change." I said. I heard Jake snort before I disappeared up the stairs.

I wore a purple shirt, a purple plaid skirt and a brown belt, let my hair down loose and grabbed my purse. It was dark leather with long tassles hanging off the flap. I helped get the food out to the truck before getting in myself. Jake rode Witch over, and Sam rode with us. I couldn't wait.


	6. Chapter 6

Riley's family reached the picnic in no time, and they practically tumbled out of the car. Riley wanted to get out, mostly becuase she was being squished. "Riley!" Emma called, waving her over. Riley took Sam's hand and led her over to the group of teenagers.

"Evening, ya'll." Riley tipped her cowboy hat teasingly. "Ma'am," Quinn, stood up and offered her his seat on the bench with the same mock accent. He smiled at her and bowed. Riley giggled and took his spot beside Seth. "We were just talking about our horses. Which one do you think has best conformation?" Emma asked.

Riley turned to all the horses tied at the hitching post. "Oh, Emma, that's hard to say." She clicked her tongue, studying them for a minute. "Witch looks almost perfect, but I think Jonathan's horse has the best." She judged. "That's what we were thinking," Seth said.

"So what are we doing tonight?" Sam asked. "Eating, singing, and dancing." Adam said. "Why so quiet, Jake?" Rily asked teasingly. He was always quiet. Everyone knew it. Jake merely sneered at her. "Okay," Jen sat down with an exhausted huff.

"Someone we all know and love sounds almost exactly like Carrie Underwood. Someone else we all know and love sounds exactly like Jo Dee Messina. I want both of them to sing."

"Emma and Sam? But Emma sounds more like Alison Krauss..." Jonathan looked confused. "Ooooo..." Jen's face brightened as she looked intently at Emma. Emma scowled and slapped Jonathan on the knee. "Thanks for reserving me a spot in the spotlight," she glared.

"Aw, cheer up, Emma. Sam and I have to sing, too." Riley pointed out. "Oh, I was half right..." Jonathan mused. He grinned at Riley. She held up her thumb and pointer finger. "You were this close," she said.

"Emma, you sing first," Nate suggested. Emma smiled charmingly and winked at him. "Sure, Nate. If you sing with me." "Anything for you," he said, mock groaning. The group chuckled. Adam handed Nate his guitar. "Why don't you do Whisky Lullabye? It's got Alison Krauss in it," Sam suggested.

Nate blushed and began singing. Riley understood that it made people nervous to be stared at. So she looked into the distance and smiled softly, enjoying the likeness of the original song. A couple of Emma's brothers had gathered by the time they finished.

Emma blushed as we all clapped. Nate took a mock bow. "You're next," Nate handed the guitar to Sam. "What shall I sing?" She asked nervously, plucking a few chords. "He'd Never Seen Julie Cry." Jen said immediately. She knew it was Sam's favorite Jo Dee Messina.

Even though Sam was a lot younger than the country singer, she sounded awesome. Riley hummed contentedly along with the song.

"You're voice is beautiful," Emma said. A couple of the guys chortled at her awe. Sam smiled and handed Riley the guitar. "Do Temporary Home," she pleaded softly. Riley smiled in understanding. Sam was embarrassed. End of story. Anxious to turn the spotlight, Sam scooted far away from Riley.

Closing her eyes, Riley began to sing.


End file.
